Throat pain right side only, sore right ear, nose sores 4 months

@abbyk Welcome to this wonderful group of people who listen help with what they have .Im so sorry to hear of your misery. Have you thought of seeing a chiropractor? he maybe able to help or a neurologist? Thats all I can suggest for you I,ve never heard of these symptoms before try everything you can think of others will hopefully chime in with suggestions

@abbyk What I might suggest is an evaluation with a good physical therapist who understands rehabbing spine problems and one who does myofascial release work. When you talk about the carotid area swelling, it might be a muscle spasm causing misalignment of your head, jaw and neck. If you have degenerated spinal discs, they can cause throat pain, and provoke muscle spasms in your neck that can pull up to your ear and jaw. I have that problem myself, and before I found out that I had a bad disc, I thought it was my thyroid as I felt like I was choking and had some unexplained pain. My doctor said the thyroid usually doesn't cause pain. It was a few years later, that my C5C6 disc ruptured, which caused inflammation and bone spurs to grow, and I had surgery at Mayo for that which stopped the throat pain (among others). A spine problem can generate pain anywhere in the body, and it's kind of the last thing someone would suspect. When you get muscle spasms in your neck, it can start moving the vertebrae around and you loose the normal curvature, and with that comes pain from whatever is shifted into a stressful position.

I also have thoracic outlet syndrome which causes my neck to be tighter on one side, and it pulls tightness through my chest and down to my hip, and can even move my hip bone forward or turn it inward. That changes the alignment of the bones in my pelvis which stresses my back. When that was really out, it caused a lot of fatigue and I couldn't walk very far without back and leg pain. For TOS, posture is very important, and I work on releasing the tightness in the fascial layers in therapy. It's like wearing a straight jacket, and I can't move properly or get back into good ergonomic alignment until the fascia is released that is holding the incorrect alignment. MFR therapy really works for me. Having restrictions can affect the esophagus internally as tight fascia can run any direction and it is like a web that binds the body together that recently doctors have called the "interstitium". I get chest tightness and spams from it sometimes. I have to strengthen too so I can maintain a better alignment. You can look at http://www.myofascialrelease.com for information about MFR work and to find a PT who is trained in this treatment. A PT can help advise what type of specialist to see based on what they find physically.

You might want to consult a neurologist and ask if you have thoracic outlet syndrome. It is hard to find places that understand and can treat TOS, but Mayo is a great place for that. It make take a few years of physical therapy to improve TOS, and there is surgery for it, but that can make it worse because of surgical scar tissue. I had neck spine surgery which did make my TOS worse for awhile because of close proximity of the surgical path, but I have improved with PT and am gaining ground again. TOS causes me to breathe improperly because one side of my chest is too tight and doesn't expand correctly, and then I start using neck muscles to breathe and it makes it worse. I also have allergies and asthma that makes it difficult and just recently saw a pulmonologist at Mayo and have better control of breathing. I used to have a lot of sinus issues too, and that is better now too with allergies under control.

What did your ENT say about your sinus issues? Some people have chronic bacterial infections in their sinuses. If no one cultured your mucous, it might be worth asking if that could be a problem for you. It's common to have a staff infection in your nose, and before my spine surgery at Mayo, they had me treat my nose with antibiotic ointment as a precaution.

With an elevated C reactive protein, that is a marker of inflammation that could have many causes. You could start with something simple like dietary changes and see if you feel better. Food allergies can contribute to pain and inflammation. I see an environmental allergy doctor (functional medicine) who understands the biochemistry of the body. I take allergy shots and he has balanced my hormones, and thyroid function, and I avoid a lot of foods that cause allergies and inflammation. This type of doctor looks to prevent disease rather than treat symptoms. They can also test various detox pathways to see if you have a deficit somewhere. Are you taking any medications that might have side effects that can cause your symptoms?

There could be many reasons for fatigue, but sometimes you just have to start somewhere and do what helps and eliminate part of the issues, and then turn to solving other problems. You may have multiple causes for your symptoms. Has any one done imaging or an MRI of your neck and spine? A physical therapist might need to know about any issues before treating you. You can always call Therapy on the Rocks in Sedona, AZ and ask for names of people they trained if there are no MFR therapists near you listed on the website.

Here are some links that may be useful-

Thoracic Outlet Syndrome https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/thoracic-outlet-syndrome/symptoms-causes/syc-20353988
Info on myofacial release http://www.myofascialrelease.com
https://www.mayoclinic.org/symptoms/shoulder-pain/basics/causes/sym-20050696
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/neck-pain/symptoms-causes/syc-20375581
https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/rheumatoid-factor/about/pac-20384800
Academy of Environmental Medicine https://www.aaemonline.org/
Environmental health Center Dalls https://www.ehcd.com/
Papers on Environmental Medicine topics https://www.ehcd.com/books-and-papers-by-doctor-rea/

@abbyk My 1st thought was that your family physician retest your bloods to be sure there isn't any changes and ensure no cancer, and tumor pressing etc, just to ensure nothing else medically going on.

If not and everything tends to be on one side still, my 2nd thought was it sounds like you are off balance like Jennifer mentioned so neurologically, it's affecting one side of your body. It's amazing what a good chiropractic alignment can do, but I'd add massage therapy to that for sure. I've also tried acupuncture. Mayo's Integrated Medicine does both, but will only see you 12 times for each. Insurance doesn't always pay. For massage, I found joining Massage Envy was cheaper. If misalignment is pressing on the nerves on one side, that will cause things to affect one side of the body.

When my neck was misaligned from a minor car accident, 9 months of PT didn't do much--strengthening only made things worse. It was just that I wasn't ready for PT yet. I'd also suffered with constant sinus infections. I was nervous having someone touch my neck, but someone who will be gentle would be wise. Once I got aligned, the nerves being compressed settled down and stopped headaches, ear and head pressure, jaw pain, upper back spasms, etc. besides the sore neck and back muscles.

The problem left though was given the time I spent crooked, the muscles on one side has shortened and the muscles on the other side of my spine had been stretched for so long that it took several months to slowly get them back in place. That's why I feel chiro only isn't enough.

If you are able, also try gentle yoga stretches, short warm baths in Epson salts to relax the muscles (brief hot tub/steam room), and lots and lots of water.
I was also advised to watch how I slept, so I wasn't tilting my neck one direction for hours while I slept nor having one arm up, either adding to neck and shoulder strain. I had to switch to starting off as a back sleeper, with a softer and less filled pillow to support my neck and not tilt my neck at any angle, and a pillow under my knees; then when shifting to my side, to be sure again my neck was supported but not tilted and the pillow moved between my knees to ensure my hips stayed even and didn't pull on my back. All that helps keep the spine aligned.

I wish you the best.

@stowe Myofascial release is very gentle and kind of like massage and yoga stretching( which is fascial stretching). I like to describe it like kneading bread dough where you sink in and push, and the just hold a gentle stretch until the fascia realigns. It might take 20 minutes for that to happen until your body gets better with treatment. Once you get the fascial restrictions released, then strengthening can help keep it where it belongs. My PT says the bones go where the muscles tell them to go. I do Epson salt baths too. My PT can very gently realign my spine with her hands. It is not a chiropractic adjustment which is a sudden movement, MFR is holding the tension on the tissue until it releases itself. I can bring on neck spasms that then move my cervical vertebrae around and cause twisting or tilting, which then causes head and neck pain, but it is easily and very gently realigned by my PT. Using arnica gel topically may help the muscle spasms too.

Thank you for sharing. I was surprised at how similar our symptoms were. I have had a sore throat, mouth sores, right side ear pain, nose sores and difficulty with pain in my throat on the right side when swallowing. I also have horrible fatigue. My Dr did blood work and sent me to an ENT but it was an urgent care doctor who diagnosed me through a quick blood test that I had the Epstein Barr Virus. Also I had anemia and needed iron. I also had the coxsacki virus. Have you been checked for the Epstein Barr Virus? After I heard that was positive, it all made more sense to me. I hope you find answers soon.

My suggestions may help with your sinus and nose issues--Xlear Nasal Spray is a non-burning saline spray that is very soothing and antiseptic (has Xylitol which is a natural disinfectant; be sure to keep away from pets as they can't tolerate Xylitol) and Ponaris Nasal Emollient is a combo of natural oils that helps with dryness and nasal sores. Ponaris helped me so much when my nose became raw while I was going through chemo for breast cancer (if your chemo makes your hair go, you even lose nose hairs and without those, natural moisture doesn't get swept back into the nose and down the throat and everything dries out; the chemo also thins the skin and you end up with a lot of raw spots inside there). Even though chemo was three years ago, these both have a permanent spot in my medicine cabinet. If I think I'm getting a sore throat, I'll give myself a few Xlear sprays down the throat several times a day as well as use it in my nose; often heads it off at the pass. They each run about $13 a bottle; I can find Xlear at Vitamin Sh*ppe and Ponaris at a local, non-chain pharmacy and online.

@texasduchess thanks for the tip I have allergies ,dry nose and sinus guess they all run together .I will look for these.Right now I use a nasal gel that helps .

I have trouble using nasal gels that come in a tube--makes me feel "stuffed up." But NeilMed makes a NasoGel for Dry Noses that is a saline gel spray that is very soothing and moisturizing (has sodium hyaluronate and aloe vera). I usually find it at Walgreen's; online pricing runs $6 to $8.

If you try Ponaris--it comes with an eyedropper which is great for getting it back in the nose, or even further back where the nose meets the throat. I often just use a Q-tip to swab it inside my nose. Since this is a mixture of essential oils, it also helps "open you up" and helps you breathe throughout the night.

@texasduchess thanks Happy Holidays to you

I had ear pain in the cartilage for a couple of weeks and the doctor was puzzled and told me to see an ENT. I had to see the chiropractor for something else but right afterwards, the ear pain went away and stayed away.